Olympic women's shot put champion Nadezhda Ostapchuk, who was stripped of her
gold medal after failing a doping test, has called the results "nonsense"
and denied any wrongdoing after testing positive for a banned anabolic
steroid.

Image 1 of 3

Belarus shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk was stripped of gold after drugs failure, but has called the test 'nonsense'Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Image 1 of 3

Defending Olympic champion Valerie Adams will now be awarded the gold medalPhoto: EPA

Image 1 of 3

Golden girl: New Zealand's Valerie Adams after winning World Athletics Championship gold in 2011. Ostapchuk is pictured with the silver medalPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

Two urine samples taken from the Belarussian before and after her win last Monday tested positive for metenolone – classified as an anabolic agent on the list of banned substances – the day after the Olympics finished.

"I do not understand where it could come from," she said. "I'm looking like an idiot to take this in heading for the games and knowing that it is so easy to be tested. Nonsense. I'm being tested every month, every week.

"I hope for the better. The most important for me is to clear my reputation. I've been in the sports for so many years and have never faced any claims. And now at the major event and after the gold medal ... I do not understand it."

It meant that Valerie Adams, the defending champion, was handed gold. The 27 year-old said she was speechless when New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) chef de mission Dave Currie told her the news of Ostapchuk's disqualification.

"I say good riddance," said Adams, who initially lost the Olympic final by 66 centimetres. "I don't want to waste any more of my energy or breath on her."

The gold medal also caps an emotional turnaround for Adams, whose preparations were thrown into disarray when NZOC officials accidentally left her off the start list of competitors in her event.

"What I want to do is enjoy the moment and savour the moment," she said. "It's a pity it came out a week later (than the event), but as I said she's caught now. It was her moment but that's the only moment she'll be able to live because now it's all taken away from her."

New Zealand anti-doping chief Jane Kernohan said metenolone tended to "masculinise" women. The drug, she said, increases their bulk and body hair while shrinking their breasts and womb.

"I think that everyone that looked at Ostapchuk probably had a few concerns about her masculinisation," she told Radio New Zealand.

However, Graeme Steele, Drug Free Sport New Zealand's executive director, said that Ostapchuk did have some claims over her dispute.

He said: "It is an old-style anabolic steroid and it's very surprising that any athlete would allow that type of drug to still be in their system when they arrived at the Games because it's quite easy to detect."